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American Educational Research Association

Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy


Author(s): Gloria Ladson-Billings
Source: American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 465-491
Published by: American Educational Research Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1163320
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American Educational ResearchJournal


Fall 1995, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 465-491

Toward a Theory of CulturallyRelevant


Pedagogy
GloriaLadson-Billings
University of Wisconsin-Madison
In the midstof discussionsabout improvingeducation, teachereducation,
equity, and diversity, little has been done to make pedagogy a central area

of investigation.Thisarticleattemptsto challengenotionsabout the intersection of cultureand teachingthat relysolelyon microanalyticor macroanalyticperspectives.Rather,the article attemptsto build on the workdone in
both of theseareas and proposesa culturallyrelevanttheoryof education.
By raising questionsabout the location of the researcherin pedagogical
research, the article attempts to explicate the theoretical framework of the

authorin the nexus of collaborativeand reflexiveresearch.Thepedagogical


practicesof eightexemplaryteachersof African-Americanstudentsserveas
the investigative"site."Theirpractices and reflectionson thosepractices
provide a way to define and recognizeculturallyrelevantpedagogy.

GLORIA
is an Associate Professor in the Department of CurricuLADSON-BILLINGS
lum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin, 225 N. Mills St., Madison, WI 53706.
Her specializations are multicultural education and social studies.

Ladson-Billings
eacher education programs throughout the nation have coupled their
efforts at reform with revised programs committed to social justice and
equity. Thus, their focus has become the preparation of prospective teachers
in ways that support equitable and just educational experiences for all students. Examples of such efforts include work in Alaska (Kleinfeld, 1992;
Noordhoff, 1990; Noordhoff & Kleinfeld, 1991), California (King & LadsonBillings, 1990), Illinois (Beyer, 1991), and Wisconsin (Murrell, 1990, 1991).
Currently,there are debates in the educational research literature concerning both locating efforts at social reform in schools (Popkewitz, 1991)
and the possibilities of "re-educating"typical teacher candidates for the
variety of student populations in U. S. public schools (Grant, 1989; Haberman,
1991a, 1991b). Ratherthan looking at programmaticreform, this article considers educational theorizing about teaching itself and proposes a theory of
culturally focused pedagogy that might be considered in the reformation of
teacher education.
Shulman's often cited article, "Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations
of the New Reform"(1987), considers philosophical and psychological perspectives, underscored by case knowledge of novice and experienced practitioners. Although Shulman's work mentions the importance of both the
knowledge of learners and their characteristicsand knowledge of educational
contexts, it generally minimizes the culturally based analyses of teaching
that have preceded it. In this article, I attempt to build on the educational
anthropological literature and suggest a new theoretical perspective to
address the specific concerns of educating teachers for success with AfricanAmerican students.

Teaching and Culture


For more than a decade, anthropologists have examined ways that teaching
can better match the home and community cultures of students of color who
have previously not had academic success in schools. Au andJordan (1981, p.
139) termed "culturallyappropriate"the pedagogy of teachers in a Hawaiian
school who incorporated aspects of students' culturalbackgrounds into their
reading instruction. By permitting students to use talk-story, a language
interaction style common among Native Hawaiian children, teachers were
able to help students achieve at higher than predicted levels on standardized
reading tests.
Mohatt and Erickson (1981) conducted similar work with Native American students. As they observed teacher-student interactions and participation
structures, they found teachers who used language interaction patterns that
approximated the students' home cultural patterns were more successful in
improving student academic performance. Improved student achievement
also was evident among teachers who used what they termed, "mixed forms"
(p. 117)-a combination of Native American and Anglo language interaction
patterns. They termed this instruction, "culturallycongruent" (p. 110).
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CulturallyRelevant Teaching
Cazden and Leggett (1981) and Erickson and Mohatt (1982) used the
term "culturallyresponsive" (p. 167) to describe similarlanguage interactions
of teachers with linguistically diverse and Native American students, respectively. Later, Jordan (1985, p. 110) and Vogt, Jordan, and Tharp (1987,
p. 281) began using the term "culturallycompatible" to explain the success
of classroom teachers with Hawaiian children.
By observing the students in their home/community environment, teachers were able to include aspects of the students' cultural environment in the
organization and instruction of the classroom. More specifically, Jordan
(1985) discusses cultural compatibility in this way:
Educationalpracticesmustmatchwith the children'sculturein ways
which ensurethe generationof academicallyimportantbehaviors.It
does not meanthatallschool practicesneed be completelycongruent
with natalculturalpractices,in the sense of exactlyor even closely
matchingor agreeingwith them.The point of culturalcompatibility
is thatthe natalcultureis usedas a guidein the selectionof educational
programelements so that academicallydesired behaviorsare produced and undesiredbehaviorsare avoided.(p.110)
These studies have several common features. Each locates the source
of student failure and subsequent achievement within the nexus of speech
and language interaction patterns of the teacher and the students. Each
suggests that student "success" is represented in achievement within the
current social structures extant in schools. Thus, the goal of education
becomes how to "fit"students constructed as "other"by virtue of their race/
ethnicity, language, or social class into a hierarchicalstructurethat is defined
as a meritocracy. However, it is unclear how these conceptions do more
than reproduce the current inequities. Singer (1988) suggests that "cultural
congruence in an inherently moderate pedagogical strategy that accepts that
the goal of educating minority students is to train individuals in those skills
needed to succeed in mainstream society" (p. 1).
Three of the terms employed by studies on cultural mismatch between
school and home--culturally appropriate,culturallycongruent, and culturally
compatible-seem to connote accommodation of student culture to mainstream culture. Only the term culturally responsive appears to refer to a more
dynamic or synergistic relationship between home/community culture and
school culture. Erickson and Mohatt (1982) suggest their notion of culturally
responsive teaching can be seen as a beginning step for bridging the gap
between home and school:
It may well be that, by discoveringthe small differencesin social
relationswhich make a big differencein the interactionalways children engage the content of the school curriculum,anthropologists
can make practicalcontributionsto the improvementof minority
children'sschool achievementand to the improvementof the everyday school life for such childrenand their teachers.Makingsmall
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Ladson-Billings
structuresmaybe one of the means
changesin everydayparticipation
by which more culturallyresponsivepedagogy can be developed.
(p. 170)
For the most part, studies of cultural appropriateness, congruence, or
compatibility have been conducted within small-scale communities-for
example, Native Hawaiian, Native Americans. However, an earlier generation
of work considered the mismatch between the language patterns of African
Americans and the school in larger,urban settings (Gay & Abrahamson, 1972;
Labov, 1969; Piestrup, 1973).
Villegas (1988) challenged the microsocial explanations advanced by
sociolinguists by suggesting that the source of cultural mismatch is located
in larger social structures and that schools as institutions serve to reproduce
social inequalities. She argued that
As long as school performsthis sortingfunctionin society, it must
necessarilyproducewinnersandlosers.... Therefore,culturallysensitive remediesto educationalproblemsof oppressedminoritystudents that ignore the politicalaspect of schooling are doomed to
failure.(pp. 262-263)
Although I would agree with Villegas's attention to the larger social
structure, other scholars in the cultural ecological paradigm (Ogbu, 1981,
1983) are ahistoricaland limited, particularlyin their ability to explain AfricanAmerican student success (Perry, 1993).1 The long history of African-American educational struggle and achievement is well documented (Anderson,
1988; Billingsley, 1992; Bond, 1969; Bullock, 1967; Clark, 1983; Harding,
1981; Harris, 1992; Johnson, 1936; Rury, 1983; Woodson, 1919; Weinberg,
1977). This historical record contradicts the glib pronouncements that, "Black
people don't value education."
Second, more recent analyses of successful schooling for African-American students (King, 1991a;Ladson-Billings, 1992a, 1994; Siddle-Walker,1993)
challenge the explanatory power of the culturalecologists' caste-like category
and raise questions about what schools can and should be doing to promote
academic success for African-Americanstudents.2
Despite their limitations,the microanalyticwork of sociolinguists and the
macrostructuralanalysis of cultural ecologists both are important in helping
scholars think about their intersections and consider possible classroom/
instructional adjustments. For scholars interested in the success of students
of color in complex, urban environments, this work provides some important
theoretical and conceptual groundwork.
Irvine (1990) developed the concept of cultural synchronization to
describe the necessary interpersonal context that must exist between the
teacher and African-Americanstudents to maximize learning. Rather than
focus solely on speech and language interactions, Irvine'swork describes the
acceptance of students' communication patterns, along with a constellation of
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CulturallyRelevant Teaching
African-Americancultural mores such as mutuality, reciprocity, spirituality,
deference, and responsibility (King & Mitchell, 1990).
Irvine'swork on African-Americanstudents and school failure considers
both micro- and macro-analyses, including: teacher-student interpersonal
contexts, teacher and student expectations, institutional contexts, and the
societal context. This work is important for its break with the cultural deficit
or culturaldisadvantage explanations which led to compensatory educational
interventions.3 A next step for positing effective pedagogical practice is a
theoretical model that not only addresses student achievement but also helps
students to accept and affirm their cultural identity while developing critical
perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other institutions)
perpetuate. I term this pedagogy, culturally relevant pedagogy.
Several questions, some of which are beyond the scope of this discussion, drive this attempt to formulate a theoretical model of culturallyrelevant
pedagogy. What constitutes student success? How can academic success and
cultural success complement each other in settings where student alienation
and hostility characterizethe school experience? How can pedagogy promote
the kind of student success that engages larger social structural issues in a
critical way? How do researchers recognize that pedagogy in action? And,
what are the implications for teacher preparationgenerated by this pedagogy?

The Illusion of AtheoreticalInquiry


Educational research is greeted with suspicion both within and outside of
the academy. Among practitioners, it is regarded as too theoretical (Kaestle,
1993). For many academicians, it is regarded as atheoretical (Katzer,Cook, &
Crouch, 1978). It is the latternotion that I address in this section of the article.
Clearly,much of educational research fails to make explicit its theoretical
underpinnings (Argyris, 1980; Amundson, Serlin, & Lehrer,1992). However,
I want to suggest that, even without explicating a theoretical framework,
researchers do have explanations for why things "work the way they do."
These theories may be partial, poorly articulated,conflated, or contradictory,
but they exist. What is regarded as traditional educational theory-theories
of reproduction (as described by Apple & Weis, 1983; Bowles, 1977; Weiler,
1988) or neoconservative traditionaltheory (as described in Young, 1990)-may actually be a default theory that researchersfeel no need to make explicit.
Thus, the theory's objectivity is unquestioned, and studies undergirded by
these theories are regarded as truth or objective reality.
Citing the ranking, or privileging, of theoretical knowledge, Code
(1991) observes:
Evenwhen empiricisttheoriesof knowledgeprevail,knowledgeable
practice constructspositionsof power and privilegethat are by no
means as impartiallyordered as strict empiricismwould require.
Knowledgegained from practical(untheorized)experienceis commonlyregardedas inferiorto theoreticallyderivedor theory-confirming knowledge, and theoryis elevatedabove practice.(p.243)
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Ladson-Billings
In education, work that recognizes the import of practical experience owes
an intellectual debt to scholars such as Smith (1978, Atkin (1973), Glaser
and Strauss (1967), and Lutz and Ramsey (1974) who explored notions of
grounded theory as an importanttool for educational research. Additionally,
work by scholars in teacher education such as Stenhouse (1983), Elliott
(1991), Carr and Kemmis (1986), Zeichner (1990), and Cochran-Smith and
Lytle (1992) illuminates the action research tradition where teachers look
reflexively at their practice to solve pedagogical problems and assist colleagues and researchers interested in teaching practice. Even some scholars
in the logical positivist traditionacknowledged the value of a more experientially grounded research approach in education (Cronbach, 1975). More
fundamental than arguing the merits of quantitative versus qualitative methodology (Gage, 1989) have been calls for broader understanding about the
limits of any research methodology (Rist, 1990). In using selected citations
from Kuhn, Patton, Becker, and Gouldner, Rist (1990) helps researchers
understand the significance of research paradigms in education. For example:
Sinceno paradigmeversolves all of the problemsit definesandsince
no two paradigmsleave all the same problemsunsolved,paradigm
debatesalwaysinvolvethequestion:Whichproblemsis itmoresignificant to have solved?(Kuhn,1970,p. 46)
A paradigmis a worldview, a generalperspective,a way of breaking
down the complexityof the realworld.As such,paradigmsaredeeply
embeddedin the socializationof adherentsand practitioners,telling
them what is important,what is reasonable.(Patton,1975,p. 9)
The issue is not researchstrategies,per se. Rather,the adherenceto
one paradigmas opposed to anotherpredisposesone to view the
world and the events within it in profoundlydifferingways. (Rist,
1990,p. 83)
The powerandpullof a paradigmis morethansimplya methodological orientation.It is a means by which to grasp realityand give it
(Rist,1990,p. 83)
meaningand predictability.
It is with this orientation toward the inherent subjectivity of educational
research that I have approached this work. In this next section, I discuss
some of the specific perspectives that have informed my work.

The Participant-Observer
Role for ResearchersWho Are "Other"
Increasingly, researchers have a story to tell about themselves as well as
their work (Carter, 1993; Peterson & Neumann, in press). I, too, share a
concern for situating myself as a researcher-who I am, what I believe, what
experiences I have had all impact what, how, and why I research. What
may make these research revelations more problematic for me is my own
membership in a marginalized racial/cultural group.
One possible problem I face is the presumption of a "native"perspective
(Banks, 1992; Narayan, 1993; Padilla, 1994; Rosaldo, 1989) as I study effective
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CulturallyRelevant Teaching

students.To this end, the questionsraisedby


practicefor African-American

seem relevant:
Narayan

"Native"anthropologists,then, are perceivedas insidersregardless


of their complex backgrounds.The differencesbetween kinds of
"native"
anthropologistsarealso obviouslypassedover.Cana person
from an impoverishedAmericanminoritybackgroundwho, despite
all prejudices,managesto get an educationand studyher own communitybe equatedwith a memberof a ThirdWorldelite groupwho,
backedby excellentschoolingand parentalfunds,studiesanthropology abroadyet returnshome forfieldworkamongthe less privileged?
Is it not insensitiveto suppressthe issue of location,acknowledging
that a scholarwho chooses an institutionalbase in the ThirdWorld
might have a differentengagementwith Western-basedtheories,
books, politicalstances,and technologiesof writtenproduction?Is a
middle-classwhiteprofessionalresearchingaspectsof herown society
also a "native"anthropologist?
(p. 677)

This locationof myselfas nativecan work againstme (Banks,1992;Padilla,


1994).Mywork maybe perceivedas biasedor,at the least,skewed, because
of my vested interests in the African-Americancommunity. Thus, I have
attempted to search for theoretical grounding that acknowledges my standpoint and simultaneously forces me to problematize it. The work of Patricia
Hill Collins (1991) on Black feminist thought has been most helpful.
Briefly, Collins's work is based on four propositions: (1) concrete experiences as a criterion of meaning, (2) the use of dialogue in assessing knowledge claims, (3) the ethic of caring, and (4) the ethic of personal
accountability. Below, I briefly describe the context and methodology of my
study and then attempt to link each of these propositions to a 3-year study
I conducted with successful teachers of African-Americanstudents.
Issues of Context and Methodology
While it is not possible to fully explicate the context and method of this
study in this article, it is necessary to provide readers with some sense of
both for better continuity. I have provided more elaborate explanations of
these aspects of the work in other writings (Ladson-Billings, 1990; 1992a,
1992b, 1994). Included here is a truncatedexplanation of the research context
and method.
In 1988, I began working as a lone investigator with a group of eight
teachers in a small (less than 3,000 students) predominantly African-American, low-income elementary school districtin Northern California.The teachers were identified through a process of community nomination (Foster,
1991), with African-Americanparents (in this case, all mothers) who attended
local churches suggesting who they thought were outstanding teachers. The
parents' criteria for teaching excellence included being accorded respect by
the teacher, student enthusiasm toward school and academic tasks, and
student attitudes toward themselves and others. The parents' selections were
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Ladson-Billings

cross-checkedby an independentlist of excellent teachers generated by


principalsand some teaching colleagues. Principals'criteriafor teaching
excellenceincludedexcellentclassroommanagementskills,studentachievement (as measuredby standardizedtest scores), and personalobservations
of teaching practice.Nine teachers'names appearedon both the parents'
andprincipals'listsandwere selectedto be in the study.One teacherdeclined
to participatebecauseof the timecommitment.Theteacherswere allfemales:
five were AfricanAmericanand threewere White.
The study was composed of four phases. Duringthe firstphase, each
teacherparticipatedin an ethnographicinterview(Spradley,1979)to discuss
her background,philosophyof teaching,and ideas about curriculum,classroom management,and parentand communityinvolvement.In the second
phase of the study, teachersagreedto be observed by me. This agreement
meantthatthe teachersgave me carteblancheto visittheirclassrooms.These
visits were not scheduled beforehand.I visited the classroomsregularlyfor
almost2 years, an averageof 3 days a week. Duringeach visit, I took field
notes, audiotapedthe class,and talkedwith the teacherafterthe visit,either
on-siteor by telephone.The thirdphase of the study,which overlappedthe
second phase, involved videotapingthe teachers.I made decisions about
whatto videotapeas a resultof my havingbecome familiarwiththe teachers'
styles and classroomroutines.
The fourthand finalphase of the study requiredthatthe teacherswork
togetheras a researchcollectiveor collaborativeto view segments of one
another'svideotapes. In a series of ten 2-3-hour meetings, the teachers
participatedin analysisand interpretationof their own and one another's
practice.It was duringthisphaseof the studythatformulationsaboutculturally relevantpedagogy thathad emergedin the initialinterviewswere confirmedby teachingpractice.
My own interest in these issues of teaching excellence for AfricanAmericanstudentscameas a resultof mydesireto challengedeficitparadigms
(Bloom, Davis, & Hess, 1965) that prevailed in the literatureon AfricanAmericanlearners.Partlyas a resultof my own experiencesas a learner,a
teacher,and a parent, I was convinced that, despite the literature,there
were teacherswho were capableof excellent teachingfor African-American
students.Thus,my work requireda paradigmaticshifttowardlookingin the
classroomsof excellent teachers,throughthe realityof those teachers.In
this next section, I discuss how my understandingof my own theoretical
groundingconnected with the study.
Concrete Experiences as a Criterion of Meaning
According to Collins, "individualswho have lived through the experiences
about which they claim to be experts are more believable and credible than
those who have merely read and thought about such experience" (p. 209).
My work with successful teachers of African-Americanstudents began
with a search for "expert"assessment of good teachers. The experts I chose
were parents who had children attending the schools where I planned to
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CulturallyRelevant Teaching
conduct the research. The parents were willing to talk openly about who
they thought were excellent teachers for their children, citing examples of
teachers' respect for them as parents, their children's enthusiasm and changed
attitudes toward learning, and improved academics in conjunction with support for the students' home culture. In most cases, the basis for their assessments were comparative, both from the standpoint of having had experiences
with many teachers (for each individualchild) and having had several schoolage children. Thus, they could talk about how an individual child fared in
different classrooms and how their children collectively performed at specific
grade levels with specific teachers.
The second area where concrete experiences as a criterion of meaning
was evident was with the teachers themselves. The eight teachers who participated in this study had from 12 to 40 years of teaching experience, most of
it with African-Americanstudents. Their reflections on what was important
in teaching African-Americanstudents were undergirded by their daily teaching experiences.
The Use of Dialogue in Assessing Knowledge Claims
This second criterion suggests that knowledge emerges in dialectical relationships. Ratherthan the voice of one authority, meaning is made as a product
of dialogue between and among individuals. In the case of my study, dialogue
was critical in assessing knowledge claims. Early in the study, each teacher
participated in an ethnographic interview (Spradley, 1979). Although I had
specific areas I wanted to broach with each teacher, the teachers' own life
histories and interests determined how much time was spent on the various
areas. In some cases, the interviews reflect a teacher's belief in the salience
of his or her family background and education. In other instances, teachers
talked more about their pedagogical, philosophical, and political perspectives. Even after I began collecting data via classroom observations, it was
the teachers' explanations and clarifications that helped to construct the
meaning of what transpired in the classrooms.
Additionally, after I collected data from classroom observations and
classroom videotaping, the teachers convened as a research collaborative to
examine both their own and one anothers' pedagogy.4 In these meetings,
meaning was constructed through reciprocal dialogue. Instead of merely
accepting Berliner's (1988) notions that "experts"operate on a level of automaticity and intuition that does not allow for accurate individual critique
and interpretation-that is, they cannot explain how they do what they
do-together the teachers were able to make sense of their own and their
colleagues' practices. The ongoing dialogue allowed them the opportunity
to re-examine and rethink their practices.
The Ethic of Caring
Much has been discussed in feminist literature about women and caring
(Gilligan, 1982; Noddings, 1984, 1991). Other feminists have been critical of
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Ladson-Billings
any essentialized notion of women (Weiler, 1988) and suggest that no empirical evidence exists to support the notion that women care in ways different
from men or that any such caring informs their scholarship and work. I argue
that Collins's use of caring refers not merely to affective connections between
and among people but to the articulation of a greater sense of commitment
to what scholarship and/or pedagogy can mean in the lives of people.
For example, in this study, the teachers were not all demonstrative and
affectionate toward the students. Instead, their common thread of caring was
their concern for the implications their work had on their students' lives, the
welfare of the community, and unjust social arrangements. Thus, ratherthan
the idiosyncratic caring for individual students (for whom they did seem to
care), the teachers spoke of the import of their work for preparing the
students for confronting inequitable and undemocratic social structures.
The Ethic of Personal Accountability
In this final dimension, Collins addresses the notion that who makes knowledge claims is as important as what those knowledge claims are. Thus,
the idea that individuals can "objectively"argue a position whether they
themselves agree with the position, as in public debating, is foreign. Individuals' commitments to ideological and/or value positions are important in
understanding knowledge claims.
In this study, the teachers demonstrated this ethic of personal accountability in the kind of pedagogical stands they took. Several of the teachers
spoke of defying administrativemandates in order to do what they believed
was right for students. Others gave examples of proactive actions they took
to engage in pedagogical practices more consistent with their beliefs and
values. For example, one teacher was convinced that the school district's
mandated reading program was inconsistent with what she was learning
about literacy teaching/learning from a critical perspective. She decided to
write a proposal to the school board asking for experimental status for a
literacy approach she wanted to use in her classroom. Her proposal was
buttressed by current research in literacy and would not cost the district any
more than the proposed program. Ultimately, she was granted permission
to conduct her experiment, and its success allowed other teachers to attempt
it in subsequent years.
Although Collins's work provided me with a way to think about my
work as a researcher, it did not provide me with a way to theorize about
the teachers' practices. Ultimately, it was my responsibility to generate theory
as I practiced theory. As previously mentioned, this work builds on earlier
anthropological and sociolinguistic attempts at a cultural "fit"between students' home culture and school culture. However, by situating it in a more
critical paradigm, a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy would necessarily

proposeto do threethings-produce studentswho can achieveacademically,


producestudentswho demonstrateculturalcompetence, and develop students who can both understandand critiquethe existing social order.The
next section discusses each of these elements of culturallyrelevant pedagogy.
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Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Student Achievement

Muchhas been writtenaboutthe school failureof African-American


students
(see, e.g., AfricanAmerican Male Task Force, 1990; Clark,1983; Comer, 1984;
Irvine, 1990; Ogbu, 1981; Slaughter& Kuehne, 1988). However, explanations
for this failure have varied widely. One often-cited explanation situates African-American students' failure in their "caste-likeminority"(p.169) or "involuntary immigrant" status (Ogbu, 1983, p. 171). Other explanations posit

cultural difference(Erickson,1987, 1993;Piestrup,1973) as the reason for


thisfailureand,as previouslymentioned,locatestudentfailurein the cultural
mismatchbetween studentsand the school.
Regardlessof these failureexplanations,little researchhas been done
to examineacademicsuccessamongAfrican-American
students.The effective
schoolsliterature(Brookover,1985;Brookover,Beady,Flood, Schweitzer,&
Wisenbaker,1979;Edmonds,1979)arguedthata groupof schoolwidecorrelates were a reliablepredictorof studentsuccess.5The basis for adjudging
a school "effective"in this literaturewas how far above predictedlevels
studentsperformedon standardizedachievementtests.Whetherornot scholars can agree on the significanceof standardizedtests, theirmeaningin the
real world serves to rank and characterizeboth schools and individuals.
Thus, teachers in urban schools are compelled to demonstratethat their
studentscan achieve literacyand numeracy(Delpit, 1992). No matterhow
good a fitdevelopsbetween home andschool culture,studentsmustachieve.
No theoryof pedagogy can escape this reality.
Studentsin the eight classroomsI observed did achieve. Despite the
low rankingof the school district,the teacherswere able to help students
In general,compared
performat higherlevels thantheirdistrictcounterparts.
to students in middle-classcommunities,the students still lagged behind.
But, more students in these classroomswere at or above grade level on
standardizedachievementtests.6Fortunately,
academicachievementin these
classroomswas not limitedto standardizedassessments.Classroomobservationsrevealeda varietyof demonstratedstudentachievementstoo numerous
to list here. Briefly,studentsdemonstratedan abilityto read, write, speak,
compute,pose and solve problemsat sophisticatedlevels--thatis, pose their
own questions about the natureof teacher-or text-posed problems and
engage in peer review of problemsolutions.Eachof the teachersfelt that
helping the studentsbecome academicallysuccessfulwas one of their primaryresponsibilities.
Culturally Relevant Teaching and Cultural Competence
Among the scholarship that has examined academically successful AfricanAmerican students, a disturbingfinding has emerged--the students' academic
success came at the expense of their cultural and psychosocial well-being
(Fine, 1986; Fordham, 1988). Fordhamand Ogbu (1986) identified a phenomenon entitled, "actingWhite"(p. 176) where African-Americanstudents who
were academically successful were ostracized by their peers. Bacon (1981)
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foundthat,amongAfrican-American
highschoolstudentsidentifiedas gifted
in theirelementarygrades,only abouthalfwere continuingto do well at the
high school level. A closer examinationof the successfulstudents'progress
indicatedthat they were social isolates,with neitherAfrican-American
nor
Whitefriends.The studentsbelieved thatit was necessaryfor them to stand
studentsso thatteacherswould not attriapartfromotherAfrican-American
bute to themthe negativecharacteristics
they mayhave attributedto AfricanAmericanstudentsin general.
studentsbecomes one of negotiating
The dilemmaforAfrican-American
the academicdemandsof school while demonstratingculturalcompetence.7
Thus,culturallyrelevantpedagogymustprovidea way for studentsto maintaintheirculturalintegritywhile succeedingacademically.One of theteachers
in the study used the lyrics of rap songs as a way to teach elements of
poetry."From the rap lyrics, she went on to more conventionalpoetry.
Studentswho were more skilled at creatingand improvisingraps were
encouraged and reinforced.Anotherteacherworked to channel the peer
group leadershipof her studentsinto classroomand schoolwideleadership.
One of her African-American
male studentswho had experiencedmultiple
suspensions and other school problems before coming to her classroom
demonstratedsome obvious leadershipabilities.He could be describedas
culturallycompetentin his languageand interactionstylesand demonstrated
pride in himselfand his culturalheritage.Ratherthan attemptto.minimize
his influence,the teacherencouragedhim to run for sixth-gradepresident
and mobilizedthe entire class to organizeand help run his campaign.To
the young man'ssurprise,he was elected.Hispositionas presidentprovided
the teacherwith manyopportunitiesto respondto potentialbehaviorproblems. This same teachermade a point of encouragingthe African-American
males in her classroomto assume the role of academicleaders.Theiracademic leadershipallowed theirculturalvalues and styles to be appreciated
and affirmed.Becausethese African-American
malestudentswere permitted,
indeedencouraged,to be themselvesin dress,languagestyle,andinteraction
styles while achieving in school, the other students, who regardedthem
highly(becauseof theirpopularity),were able to see academicengagement

as "cool."

Manyof the self-describedAfrican-centered


publicschoolshave focused
on this notionof culturalcompetence.9To date,littledatahas been reported
on the academicsuccess of studentsin these programs.However,the work
of African-American
scholars such as Ratteray(1994), Lee (1994), Hilliard
Murrell
(1992),
(1993),Asante(1991), and othersindicatesthatAfrican-centered educationdoes develop studentswho maintainculturalcompetence
and demonstrateacademicachievement.
Culturally Relevant Teaching and CulturalCritique
Not only must teachers encourage academic success and cultural competence, they must help students to recognize, understand, and critique current
social inequities. This notion presumes that teachers themselves recognize
476

CulturallyRelevant Teaching
social inequities and their causes. However, teacher educators (Grant, 1989;
Haberman, 1991b;King, 1991b; King & Ladson-Billings,1990; Zeichner, 1992)
have demonstrated that many prospective teachers not only lack these understandings but reject information regarding social inequity. This suggests that
more work on recruiting particular kinds of students into teaching must be
done. Also, we are fortunate to have models for this kind of cultural critique
emanating from the work of civil rights workers here in the U. S. (Aaronsohn,
1992; Morris,1984;Clark,1964; Clark,with Brown, 1990) and the international
work of Freire (1973, 1974) that has been incorporated into the critical
and feminist work currently being done by numerous scholars (see, e.g.,
Ellsworth, 1989; Giroux, 1983; Hooks, 1989; Lather, 1986; McLaren, 1989).
Teachers who meet the cultural critique criteriamust be engaged in a critical
pedagogy which is:
a deliberateattemptto influencehow andwhatknowledgeandidentities areproducedwithinand amongparticular
sets of socialrelations.
Itcan be understoodas a practicethroughwhichpeople areincitedto
Asbotha politicaland practical
acquirea particular"moralcharacter."
activity,it attemptsto influencethe occurrenceandqualitiesof experiences. (Giroux& Simon,1989,p. 239)
Thus, the teachers in this study were not reluctant to identify political underpinnings of the students' community and social world. One teacher worked
with her students to identify poorly utilized space in the community, examine
heretofore inaccessible archivalrecords about the early history of the community, plan alternative uses for a vacant shopping mall, and write urban plans
which they presented before the city council.
In a description of similar political activity, a class of African-American,
middle-school students in Dallas identified the problem of their school's
being surrounded by liquor stores (Robinson, 1993). Zoning regulations in
the city made some areas dry while the students' school was in a wet area.
The students identified the fact that schools serving White, upper middleclass students were located in dry areas, while schools in poor communities
were in wet areas. The students, assisted by their teacher, planned a strategy
for exposing this inequity. By using mathematics, literacy, social, and political
skills, the students were able to prove their points with reports, editorials,
charts, maps, and graphs. In both of these examples, teachers allowed students to use their community circumstances as official knowledge (Apple,
1993). Their pedagogy and the students' learning became a form of cultural critique.

Theoretical Underpinningsof CulturallyRelevant Pedagogy


As I looked (and listened) to exemplary teachers of African-Americanstudents, I began to develop a grounded theory of culturally relevant pedagogy.
The teachers in the study met the aforementioned criteria of helping their
students to be academically successful, culturallycompetent, and sociopoliti477

Ladson-Billings
cally critical. However, the ways in which they met these criteria seemed to
differ markedly on the surface. Some teachers seemed more structured or
rigid in their pedagogy. Others seemed to adopt more progressive teaching
strategies. What theoretical perspective(s) held them together and allowed
them to meet the criteria of culturally relevant teaching?
One of the places I began to look for these commonalties was in teachers'
beliefs and ideologies. Lipman (1993) has suggested that, despite massive
attempts at school reform and restructuring,teacher ideologies and beliefs
often remain unchanged, particularlytoward African-Americanchildren and
their intellectual potential. Thus, in the analysis of the teacher interviews,
classroom observations, and group analysis of videotaped segments of their
teaching, I was able to deduce some broad propositions (or characteristics)
that serve as theoretical underpinnings of culturally relevant pedagogy.
I approach the following propositions tentatively to avoid an essentialized and/or dichotomized notion of the pedagogy of excellent teachers.
What I propose represents a range or continuum of teaching behaviors, not
fixed or rigid behaviors that teachers must adhere to in order to merit the
designation "culturallyrelevant."The need for these theoretical understandings may be more academic than pragmatic. The teachers themselves feel
no need to name their practice culturally relevant. However, as a researcher
and teacher educator, I am compelled to try to make this practice more
accessible, particularly for those prospective teachers who do not share
the cultural knowledge, experiences, and understandings of their students
(Haberman, 1994).
The three broad propositions that have emerged from this research
center around the following:10

"*the conceptions of self and others held by culturally relevant teachers,


"*the manner in which social relations are structured by culturally relevant teachers,

"*the conceptions of knowledge held by culturally relevant teachers.


Conceptions of Self and Others
The sociology of teaching literature suggests that, despite the increasing
professionalization of teaching (Strike, 1993), the status of teaching as a
profession continues to decline. The feeling of low status is exacerbated
when teachers work with what they perceive to be low-status students (Foster,
1986). However, as I acted as a participant-observer in the classrooms of
exemplary teachers of African-Americanstudents, both what they said and
did challenged this notion. In brief, the teachers:

"*believed that all the students were capable of academic success,


"*saw their pedagogy as art-unpredictable, always in the process of
becoming,
* saw themselves as members of the community,
? saw teaching as a way to give back to the community,
478

CulturallyRelevant Teaching
* believed in a Freirean notion of "teaching as mining" (1974, p. 76) or
pulling knowledge out.
The teachers demonstrated their commitment to these conceptions of
self and others in a consistent and deliberate manner. Students were not
permitted to choose failure in their classrooms. They cajoled, nagged, pestered, and bribed the students to work at high intellectual levels. Absent
from their discourse about students was the "language of lacking." Students
were never referred to as being from a single-parent household, being on
AFDC (welfare), or needing psychological evaluation. Instead, teachers
talked about their own shortcomings and limitations and ways they needed
to change to ensure student success.
As I observed them teach, I witnessed spontaneity and energy that came
from experience and their willingness to be risk takers. In the midst of a
lesson, one teacher, seemingly bewildered by her students' expressed belief
that every princess had long blond hair, swiftly went to her book shelf, pulled
down an African folk tale about a princess, and shared the story with the
students to challenge their assertion. In our conference afterward, she
commented,
I didn'tplan to insertthat book, but I just couldn'tlet them go on
thinkingthatonly blond-haired,Whitewomen were eligiblefor royalty. I know where they get those ideas, but I have a responsibility
to contradictsome of that.The consequencesof thatkindof thinking
are more devastatingfor our children.(sp-6, Fieldnotes)"
The teachers made conscious decisions to be a part of the community
from which their students come. Three of the eight teachers in this study
live in the school community. The others made deliberate efforts to come
to the community for goods, services, and leisure activities, demonstrating
their belief in the community as an important and worthwhile place in both
their lives and the lives of the students.
A final example I present here is an elaboration of a point made earlier.
It reflects the teachers' attempt to support and instill community pride in the
students. One teacher used the community as the basis of her curriculum.
Her students searched the county historical archives, interviewed long-term
residents, constructed and administered surveys and a questionnaire, and
invited and listened to guest speakers to get a sense of the historical development of their community. Their ultimate goal was to develop a land use
proposal for an abandoned shopping center that was a magnet for illegal
drug use and other dangerous activities. The project ended with the students'
making a presentation before the City Council and Urban Planning Commission. One of the students remarked to me, "This [community] is not such a
bad place. There are a lot of good things that happened here, and some of
that is still going on." The teacher told me that she was concerned that too
many of the students believed that their only option for success involved
moving out of the community, rather than participating in its reclamation.
479

Ladson-Billings
Social Relations
Much has been written about classroom social interactions (see, e.g., Brophy & Good, 1970; Rist, 1970; Wilcox, 1982). Perhaps the strength of some
of the research in this area is evidenced by its impact on classroom practices.
For example, teachers throughout the nation have either heard of or implemented various forms of cooperative learning (Cohen & Benton, 1988; Slavin,
1987): cross-aged, multi-aged, and heterogeneous ability groupings. While
these classroom arrangementsmay be designed to improve student achievement, culturally relevant teachers consciously create social interactions to
help them meet the three previously mentioned criteriaof academic success,
cultural competence, and critical consciousness. Briefly, the teachers:
* maintain fluid student-teacher relationships,
* demonstrate a connectedness with all of the students,
* develop a community of learners,
* encourage students to learn collaboratively and be responsible for
another.
In these teachers' classrooms, the teacher-student relationships are equitable and reciprocal. All of the teachers gave students opportunities to act
as teachers. In one class, the teacher regularly sat at a student's desk, while
the student stood at the front of the room and explained a concept or some
aspect of student culture. Another teacher highlighted the expertise of various
students and required other students to consult those students before coming
to her for help: "Didyou ask Jamal how to do those math problems?""Make
sure you check with Latashabefore you turn in your reading." Because she
acknowledged a wide range of expertise, the individual students were not
isolated from their peers as teacher's pets. Instead, all of the students were
made aware that they were expected to excel at something and that the
teacher would call on them to share that expertise with classmates.
The culturally relevant teachers encouraged a community of learners
rather than competitive, individual achievement. By demanding a higher
level of academic success for the entire class, individual success did not
suffer. However, ratherthan lifting up individuals (and, perhaps, contributing
to feelings of peer alienation), the teachers made it clear that they were
working with smart classes. For many of the students, this identification with
academic success was a new experience. "Calvin was a bad student last
year," said one student. "And that was last year," replied the teacher, as
she designated Calvin to lead a discussion group. Another example of this
community of learners was exemplified by a teacher who, herself, was a
graduate student. She made a conscious decision to share what she was
learning with her sixth graders. Every Friday, after her Thursday evening
class, the students queried her about what she had learned.
A demonstration of the students' understanding of what she was learning
occurred during the principal's observation of her teaching. A few minutes
into a discussion where students were required to come up with questions
480

CulturallyRelevant Teaching
they wanted answered about the book they were reading, a young man
seated at a table near the rear of the class remarked with seeming disgust,
"We'renever gonna learn anything if y'all don't stop asking all of these low
level questions!" His comment was evidence of the fact that the teacher had
shared Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives(1956) with the class.
At another time, two African-Americanboys were arguing over a notebook.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked the teacher. "He's got my metacognitive journal!"replied one of the boys. By using the language of the
teacher's graduate class, the students demonstrated their ability to assimilate
her language with their own experiences.
To solidify the social relationships in their classes, the teachers encouraged the students to learn collaboratively, teach each other, and be responsible for the academic success of others. These collaborative arrangements
were not necessarily structured like those of cooperative learning. Instead,
the teachers used a combination of formal and informal peer collaborations.
One teacher used a buddy system, where each student was paired with
another. The buddies checked each other's homework and class assignments.
Buddies quizzed each other for tests, and, if one buddy was absent, it was
the responsibility of the other to call to see why and to help with makeup
work. The teachers used this ethos of reciprocity and mutuality to insist that
one person's success was the success of all and one person's failure was the
failure of all. These feelings were exemplified by the teacher who insisted,
"We're a family. We have to care for one another as if our very survival
depended on it.... Actually, it does!"
Conceptions of Knowledge
The third proposition that emerged from this study was one that indicated
how the teachers thought about knowledge-the curriculumor content they
taught-and the assessment of that knowledge. Once again, I will summarize
their conceptions or beliefs about knowledge:

"*Knowledge is not static; it is shared, recycled, and constructed.


"*Knowledge must be viewed critically.
"*Teachers must be passionate about knowledge and learning.
"*Teachers must scaffold, or build bridges, to facilitate learning.
"*Assessment must be multifaceted, incorporating multiple forms of
excellence.

For the teachers in this study, knowledge was about doing. The students
listened and learned from one another as well as the teacher. Early in the
school year, one teacher asked the students to identify one area in which
they believed they had expertise. She then compiled a list of "classroom
experts" for distribution to the class. Later,she developed a calendar and
asked students to select a date that they would like to make a presentation
in their area of expertise. When students made their presentations, their
481

Ladson-Billings
knowledge and expertise was a given. Their classmates were expected to
be an attentive audience and to take seriously the knowledge that was being
shared by taking notes and/or asking relevant questions. The variety of topics
the students offered included rap music, basketball, gospel singing, cooking,
hair braiding, and baby-sitting. Other students listed more school-like areas
of expertise such as reading, writing, and mathematics. However, all students
were required to share their expertise.
Another example of the teachers' conceptions of knowledge was demonstrated in the critical stance the teachers took toward the school curriculum.
Although cognizant of the need to teach certain things because of a districtwide testing policy, the teachers helped their students engage in a variety
of forms of critical analyses. For one teacher, this meant critique of the social
studies textbooks that were under consideration by a state evaluation panel.
For two of the other teachers, critique came in the form of resistance to districtapproved reading materials.Both of these teachers showed the students what
it was they were supposed to be using along with what they were going to
use and why. They both trusted the students with this information and
enlisted them as allies against the school district's policies.
A final example in this category concerns the teachers' use of complex
assessment strategies. Several of the teachers actively fought the students'
right-answer approach to school tasks without putting the students' down.
They provided them with problems and situations and helped the students
to say aloud the kinds of questions they had in their minds but had been
taught to suppress in most other classrooms. For one teacher, it was the
simple requiring of students to always be prepared to ask, "Why?"Thus,
when she posed a mathematical word problem, the first question usually
went something like this: "Why are we interested in knowing this?"Or,
someone would simply ask, "Whyare we doing this problem?"The teacher's
response was sometimes another question: "Who thinks they can respond
to that question?"Other times, the teacher would offer an explanation and
then ask, "Areyou satisfied with that answer?"If a student said "Yes,"she
might say, "Youshouldn't be. Just because I'm the teacher doesn't mean I'm
always right." The teacher was careful to help students to understand the
difference between an intellectual challenge and a challenge to the authority
of their parents. Thus, just as the students were affirmed in their ability to
code-switch, or move with facility, in language between African-American
language and a standardform of English, they were supported in the attempts
at role-switching between school and home.
Another teacher helped her students to choose both the standards by
which they were to be evaluated and the pieces of evidence they wanted
to use as proof of their mastery of particular concepts and skills. None of
the teachers or their students seemed to have test anxiety about the school
district'sstandardized tests. Instead, they viewed the tests as necessary irritations, took them, scored better than their age-grade mates at their school,
and quickly returned to the rhythm of learning in their classroom.
482

CulturallyRelevant Teaching

Conclusion
I began this article arguing for a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. I
also suggested that the tensions that surround my position as a native in the
research field force me to face the theoretical and philosophical biases I
bring to my work in overt and explicit ways. Thus, I situated my work in
the context of Black feminist thought. I suggested that culturally relevant
teaching must meet three criteria:an ability to develop students academically,
a willingness to nurture and support cultural competence, and the development of a sociopolitical or criticalconsciousness. Next, I argued that culturally
relevant teaching is distinguishable by three broad propositions or conceptions regarding self and other, social relations, and knowledge. With this
theoretical perspective, I attempted to broaden notions of pedagogy beyond
strictly psychological models. I also have argued that earlier sociolinguistic
explanations have failed to include the larger social and cultural contexts of
students and the cultural ecologists have failed to explain student success.
I predicated the need for a culturally relevant theoretical perspective on the
growing disparity between the racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics of
teachers and students along with the continued academic failure of AfricanAmerican, Native American and Latino students.
Although I agree with Haberman's(1991b) assertion that teacher educators are unlikely to make much of a difference in the preparation of teachers
to work with students in urban poverty unless they are able to recruit "better"
teacher candidates, I still believe researchers are obligated to re-educate the
candidates we currently attracttoward a more expansive view of pedagogy
(Bartolome, 1994). This can be accomplished partly by helping prospective
teachers understand culture (their own and others) and the ways it functions
in education. Rather than add on versions of multicultural education or
human relations courses (Zeichner, 1992) that serve to exoticize diverse
students as "other,"a culturallyrelevant pedagogy is designed to problematize
teaching and encourage teachers to ask about the nature of the studentteacher relationship, the curriculum, schooling, and society.
This study represents a beginning look at ways that teachers might
systematically include student culture in the classroom as authorized or
official knowledge. It also is a way to encourage praxis as an important
aspect of research (Lather, 1986). This kind of research needs to continue
in order to support new conceptions of collaboration between teachers and
researchers (practitioners and theoreticians). We need research that proposes
alternate models of pedagogy, coupled with exemplars of successful pedagogues. More importantly, we need to be willing to look for exemplary
practice in those classrooms and communities that too many of us are ready
to dismiss as incapable of producing excellence.
The implication of continuing this kind of work means that research
grounded in the practice of exemplary teachers will form a significant part
of the knowledge base on which we build teacher preparation. It means
that the research community will have to be willing to listen to and heed the
483

Ladson-Billings

"wisdomof practice"(Shulman,1987,p. 12) of these excellentpractitioners.


Additionally,we need to considermethodologiesthat presentmore robust
portraitsof teaching.Meaningfulcombinationsof quantitativeandqualitative
inquiriesmust be employed to help us understandthe deeply textured,
multilayeredenterpriseof teaching.
I presumethatthe work I have been doing raisesmore questionsthan
it answers.A common question asked by practitionersis, "Isn'twhat you
describedjust 'good teaching'?"And, while I do not deny that it is good
teaching,I pose a counterquestion:why does so little of it seem to occur
students?Anotherquestion
in classroomspopulated by African-American
that arises is whether or not this pedagogy is so idiosyncraticthat only
"certain"
teacherscan engage in it. I would arguethatthe diversityof these
teachersand the varietyof teachingstrategiesthey employedchallengethat
notion.The commonfeaturethey sharedwas a classroompracticegrounded
in what they believed about the educabilityof the students.Unfortunately,
this raisestroublingthoughtsabout those teacherswho are not successful,
but we cannot assume that they do not believe that some students are
incapable(or unworthy)of being educated.The reasons for their lack of
success are far too complex for this discussion.
Ultimately,my responsibilityas a teachereducatorwho worksprimarily
withyoung,middle-class,Whitewomenis to providethemwiththe examples
of culturallyrelevantteachingin both theoryand practice.Myresponsibility
as a researcheris to continue to inquirein order to move towarda theory
of culturallyrelevantpedagogy.
Notes
I am gratefulto the NationalAcademyof Education'sSpencerpostdoctoralfellowship
programfor providing me with the funding to conduct this research.However, the ideas
expressed here are my own and do not necessarilyreflect those of the NationalAcademy
of Educationor the Spencer Foundation.
1Althoughissues of culturallyrelevantteaching can and should be considered crossstudents.
culturally,this work looks specificallyat the case of African-American
2It is interesting to note that a number of trade books have emerged that detail
the rage and frustrationof academicallysuccessful, professional, middle-class, AfricanAmericanadults, which suggests that, even with the proper educationalcredentials,their
lives continue to be plagued by racismand a questioning of their competence. Among
the more recent books areJill Nelson's VolunteerSlavery(1993), Brent Staples'sParallel
Time (1994), and Ellis Cose's TheRage of a PrivilegedClass (1993).
3Itshould be noted that the "culturaldeficit"notion has been reinscribedunder the
rubricof "at-risk"
(Cuban,1989). Initially,the U. S. Commissionon Excellencein Education
defined the nation as at risk.Now, almost 10 years later,it appearsthatonly some children
are at risk.Too often, in the case of African-American
students, their racial/culturalgroup
membership defines them as at risk.
4The researchcollaborativemet to view portions of the classroomvideotapes that I,
as researcher,selected for common viewing.
5These correlates include: a clear and focused mission, instructionalleadership, a
safe and orderlyenvironment,regularmonitoringof student progress,high expectations,
and positive home-school relations.
"6Students
in this districttook the CaliforniaAchievement Test (CAT)in October and
May of each school year. Growth scores in the classrooms of the teachers in the study
were significantlyabove those of others in the district.
484

Culturally Relevant Teaching


students means
7Thisis not to suggest thatculturalcompetence for African-American
studentsface is the constantdevaluation
being a failure.The problemthatAfrican-American
of their culture both in school and in the larger society. Thus, the styles apparent in
African-Americanyouth culture--e.g., dress, music, walk, language-are equated with
poor academic performance.The student who identifies with "hip-hop"culture may be
regardedas dangerousand/or a gang memberfor whom academicsuccess is not expected.
He (and it usually is a male) is perceived as not having the cultural capital (Bourdieu,
1984) necessary for academic success.
"8An
examination of rap music reveals a wide variety of messages. Despite the high
profile of "ganstarap,"which seems to glorify violence, particularlyagainst the police
and Whites,and the misogynisticmessages found in some of this music, thereis a segment
of rap music that serves as cultural critique and urges AfricanAmericans to educate
themselves because schools failto do so. Prominentrapartistsin this traditionareArrested
Development, Diggable Planets,KRS-1,and Queen Latifah.
"Iam indebted to MwalimuShujaafor sharinghis working paper, "Afrikan-Centered
Educationin Afrikan-CenteredSchools:The Need for Consensus Building,"which elaborates the multiplicityof thinkingon this issue extant in the African-centeredmovement.
1oReadersshould note that I have listed these as separate and distinctcategories for
analyticalpurposes. In practice,they intersectand overlap, continuously.
"These letters and numbers representcodes I employed to distinguishamong the
interview data and field notes I collected during the study.

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Manuscriptreceived June 20, 1994
Revision received September19, 1994
Accepted September24, 1994

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